Uma nova Bélgica?

Numa altura de grande contenção económica por toda a UE, eis que num país com pouco mais de 11 milhões de habitantes e uma área de 92090km2 começam reboliços populares (e não só) que visam a procura do conflito entre as regiões do Norte e as do Sul de Portugal.

À margem da Constituição Portuguesa um grupo de pessoas está a tentar formar um partido político para defender unica e exclusivamente os interesses de uma determinada região de um país: "O movimento Pró-Partido do Norte está a ser formado com o objectivo de formar um partido político do Norte através do qual a região tenha uma voz e uma representação a nível nacional" (in JN).

A Constituição é bem explícita quanto à formação deste tipo de partidos. Segundo o 4º parágrafo do Artigo 51 "Não podem constituir-se partidos que, pela sua designação ou pelos seus objectivos programáticos, tenham índole ou âmbito regional".

Passadas as questões legais que impedem tamanho disparate, não esqueçamos que vivemos num País em que toda e qualquer lei pode ser posta em causa sendo que os elementos que constituem este movimento ainda não partidário já apelaram à revisão e revogação deste Artigo de um dos únicos documentos oficiais que ainda dignificam Portugal.

Os nortenhos sentem-se discriminados em relação aos mouros! Nós todos que somos Portugueses, que deveríamos defender as mesmas causas, os meus objectivos, sempre com o fim de nos tornarmos um país mais competitivo, com maior voz de expressão.

Vejamos porquê:

O que salta já à vista são as SCUT que deixaram de as ser. É verdade que a maior parte destas auto-estradas localiza-se no norte do país. É também verdade que a Via do Infante no Algarve não tem alternativas viáveis e a implementação de portagens aqui significaria o regresso ao enorme tráfego numa estrada que já foi a mais mortífera do país (EN 125). O mesmo se aplica com a A23 que liga Torres Novas à Guarda e à A24 que liga Viseu a Chaves (curiosamente esta está situada no território norte do país e não se perspectiva a introdução de portagens).

É impensável a taxação destas últimas duas auto-estradas (A23 e A24) por fazerem a ligação ao interior do país. A introdução de portagens nestas vias significaria uma exclusão ainda maior destas áreas pobres do país que estão a recuperar alguma riqueza com o investimento e estabelecimento de muitas empresas que viram as potenciais vantagens oferecidas (menos impostos, auto-estradas sem custos adicionais).

Claro que ninguém deseja ver uma infra-estrutura nova, do Estado, tornar-se paga! Ainda para mais quando pertence ao Estado e a sua construção saiu do bolso de cada contribuinte. Estamos todos de acordo neste ponto mas temos formas diferentes de defender a não introdução das portagens. Os nortenhos decidiram que seria a altura ideal de se rebaixarem perante Lisboa e falar em palavras fortes como "discriminação".

Um país tão pequeno deveria estar de braços dados e não a separar-se ainda mais. Infelizmente em Portugal toda a gente fala no que lhe convém e interessa e não no bem comum para uma sociedade.

A reflexão sobre as portagens já vai longa.
Há dias, enquanto fazia zapping no leque de canais cada vez mais alargado oferecido pelas inúmeras empresas de televisão por cabo, parei uns minutos no Porto Canal, que nem sabia da sua existência. Estavam a transmitir a meteorologia para o próximo dia mas apenas na região norte do país, na Madeira, nos Açores e também nas principais cidades europeias. Sendo um canal privado, o conteúdo e escolha da transmissão é da inteira responsabilidade do próprio mas, porquê lançar mais combustível na fogueira?! Mais uma vez lembremo-nos que estamos na ponta mais ocidental da UE, um dos mais pequenos do mundo (109º maior país do mundo em termos de área geográfica), com uma população pequena e que deveria estar a juntar ideias e políticas de modo a tornar-se 'maior' e mais competitivo.

Num país com uma área tão pequena e uma economia tão mediana, fará sentido falar-se em regionalização? Em vez desta medida extrema o que deveria estar a ser mudado são o número e limites geográficos de freguesias e concelhos. Precisamos de uma reestruturação ao nível das autarquias. Temos sedes de concelho com menos habitantes do que vilas do mesmo concelho, temos populações separadas por limites de freguesias, freguesias sem ninguém e com uma área demasiado pequena, freguesias com muitos habitantes e áreas enormes...

Estará Portugal a tornar-se uma nova Bélgica, ainda que por motivos diferentes?
Encontrarão algum consenso os Portugueses do norte e os do sul?

The swine flu hoax II

Again and again... Flu here, flu there, diseased people here., diseased people there!
This is the approximate translation from a text I found quite interesting.

Written by Teresa Forcades i Vila on the 11th of October of 2009:

The 2 first cases of the new flu (virus A/H1N1, strain S-OIV) were diagnosed in California (USA) on the 17th of April of 2009 [1].

The new flu is not new because is of the type A, neither because the subtype is H1N1. The epidemic flu that occurred in 1918 was from this particular strain and since 1977 that H1N1 viruses belong to the annual flues [2]. The only thin new here is the strain S-OIV [3] [4].

About 66% of elderly people over 60 years of age appear to have immunity against this type of virus of the new flu [5].

Since it started till 15th of September of 2009, 137 people died from this disease in Europe and 3,559 in all over the world [6] [today this number ascends to 8000]. Note that between 40,000 and 220,000 people die every year in Europe due to the seasonal flu.

As many famous health professionals - Dr. Bernard Debré (member of the National Council of Ethics in France) and Dr. Juan José Rodriguez Sendim (president of the Association of Medical Colleges in Spain) - the data from this season, among which the countries from the South hemisphere are included, demonstrates that the mortality and complications rates of this new flu are lower than the ones of the seasonal flu [8].

Irregularities must be explained.

At the end of January 2009, the Austrian filial of the American pharmaceutical company Baxter, distributed to 16 laboratories in Austria, Germany, Czech Republic and Slovenia, 72kg of material to prepare the vaccines against the seasonal flu. The vaccines would have to be administered to the population of this countries between February and March. Before the administration of any of these vaccines, a technician from the BioTest laboratory in Czech Republic decided, by its own, to experiment these vaccines in Ferrets [Portuguese = Furões], which are the animals used since 1918 to study the flu vaccine. All of them died!

Further investigations to the material sent by Baxter, demonstrated that the contained live viruses from the avian flu (virus A/H5N1) combined with live viruses from the seasonal flu (A/H3N2). If this contamination would not be found in time, the pandemics that, without a true background, the WHO and other national entities are announcing, would be now an amazing reality! The combination of these live viruses could be particularly lethal because it combines a live virus with a mortality rate of 60% but not so contagious (the avian flu virus) with other highly contagious but with a mortality rate much lower (the seasonal flu virus) [9].

On the 29th of April of 2009, when only 12 days passed since the first cases of the new flu, Dr. Margaret Chan, general-director of WHO, declared that the alert level for a pandemic was in phase 5 and ordered to all governments, members of the WHO group, the activation of emergency plans and maximal level of alertness. A month later, Dr. Chan declared that in the world we had already a pandemic (phase 6) caused by the A/H1N1 S-OIV virus. How could she made such statements when, according to the scientific data above, the new flu is, in fact more benign than the seasonal flu, which is not a new virus and to which part of the population is immune?

She could do it because during May, the WHO changed the definition of Pandemic: before May 2009 a pandemic to be declared would have to involve and infectious agent that caused a significant proportion of deaths among the population. This requirement - which is the unique giving a clinical concept to the associated political measures - was eliminated from the new definition on May 2009 [11], after the USA declared themselves in a "national emergency status", when in the whole country there were only 20 people infected, among each none death [12].

Polical consequences of the statement of pandemics:

In the context of a pandemics, it is possible to declare the vaccination obligatory to certain groups of professionals or even some group of citizens [13].

What can happen if a person refuses to be vaccinated? Until it is not declared obligatory, nothing can happen. But if we arrive to a situation in which the vaccination would be obligatory, the governments would have to make the people to comply with the law. Who would refuse would have to pay a fine or go to prison (in Massachussetts the fine can reach 1000€ per each day that passes without the individual being vaccinated)[14].

According to this, some people might decide "ok... i will vaccinated myself when it is compulsory". The problem is, like the seasonal vaccines, there are no shots for everyone.

We must know that there are 3 differences comparing the new vaccine with the seasonal flu vaccine. The first is that the majority of the laboratories are designing the vaccine in order to one injection will be not enough and we will need 2 doses. The WHO also recommends that who takes the new vaccine should not take the seasonal flu one because it increases by 3 times the risk of adverse effects, which are not even known yet since there were no trials. The second news is that the responsible labs for the fabrication of the vaccine, added 2 co-adjuvants that are stronger than the ones used nowadays for the seasonal flu. Co-adjuvants are substances added to stimulate the immune system. For example the vaccine being produced by Glaxo-Smith-Kline, has an adjuvant, AS03, a combination that multiplies by 10 the immune response. The problem is that no one can ensure that the usage of these substances will not cause, on a long-term basis, autoimmune diseases such as the Guillain-Barré syndrome [15]. The third innovation is that the pharmaceutical companies that are producing the vaccine are requiring/demanding that the countries sign agreements that confer impunity to the companies, in case there are further adverse effects than the expected ones (for example, it is predicted that Guillain-Barré syndrome will develop in 10 people among 1 million of vaccinations. The USA already sign such an agreement that guarantee to the pharmaceuticals and also to the politicians, full immunity (no responsibility) for the possible adverse effects of the vaccine [16].

References:

[1] Zimmer SM, Burke, DS. Historical Perspective: Emergence of Influenza A (H1N1) viruses.. NEJM, Julio 16, 2009. p. 279
[2] 'The reemergence was probably an accidental release from a laboratory source in the setting of waning population immunity to H1 and N1 antigens', Zimmer, Burke, op. cit., p. 282
[3] Zimmer, Bunker, op. cit., p. 279
[4] Doshi, Peter. Calibrated response to emerging infections. BMJ 2009;339:b3471
[5] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Serum cross-reactive antibody response to a novel influenza A (H1N1) virus after vaccination with seasonal influenza vaccine. MMWR 2009; 58: 521-4.
[6] Dados oficiais do Centro Europeu para o controlo e prevenção de doenças (www.ecdc.europa.eu).
[7] Dados oficiais do Centro Europeu para o controlo e prevenção de doenças (www.ecdc.europa.eu)
[8] Cf. Le Journal du Dimanche (25 juliol '09): Debré: 'Cette grippe n'est pas dangereuse'; cf. La Razón (4 septiembre '09): Rodríguez Sendín: Cordura frente el alarmismo en la prevención de la gripe A
[9] Cf. Virus mix-up by lab could have resulted in pandemic. The Times of India, sección de ciencia, 6 marzo 2009.
[10] http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2009
[11] Cohen E. When a pandemic isn't a pandemic. CNN, 4 de mayo'09. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/05/04/swine.flu.pandemic/index.html
[12] Doshi Peter Calibrated response to emerging infections VMJ 2009;339:b3471
[13] Falkiner, Keith. Get the rushed flu jab or be jailed. Irish Star Sunday, 13 septiembre '09.
[14] Senate Bill n. 2028: An act relative to pandemic and disaster preparation and response in the commonwealth. 4 agosto '09. Cf. Moore, RT. Critics rage as state prepares for flu pandemic. 11 septiembre '09. WBUR Boston.
[15] Cf. Vaccination H1N1: méfiance des infirmières. www.syndicat-infirmier.com/Vaccination-H1N1-mefiance-des.htlm
[16] Stobbe, Mark. Legal immunity set for swine flu vaccine makers. Associated Press, 17 Julio '09.


Teresa Forcades i Vila is a Benedict monk in the San Benedict Monastaire in Montserrat, Barcelona; she has doctorate in Public Health and specialization in Internal Medicine from New York University. She is the writer of many books among which "Los crimines de las grandes companias farmaceuticas" [the crimes of the big pharmaceutical companies].



Comment please!

Swine flu vaccination II

News from Sweden:

"There are reports from Sweden of possible deaths linked to the H1N1 vaccine";
"An unconfirmed source says Swedish news sources are reporting at least 350 adverse reactions to the vaccine";
"Hungary has reported one death associated with the H1N1 vaccine";
"Glaxo-Smith-Kline (...) expects to make one billion pounds from the H1N1 vaccine alone"

And news from Ireland:

"The teenager fell seriously ill after receiving the injection, along with thousands of other pupils across Northern Ireland last Friday".


Whether or not these are just some sporadic cases of adverse reactions of this new vaccine, as expected (because it did not followed the normal clinical trials), one fact is pure true: pharmaceutical companies are going to become, not just richer, they are going to be even more powerful entities achieving a dangerous position on the health system that will end up to limit the action of the other professional health staff.

Hopefully we will eradicate this new strain of virus but is it worthful? Do the expenses compensate the results? What about the other more epidemic diseases that do not affect the small minority of developed nations?

What about on the future? Are people going to have to take the vaccine even against their willing?! After all this is a rapid contagious disease despite the mild symptoms associated with it on the normal healthy population. And, who says H1N1 vaccine says also any other vaccination... How are the legal rights of a mother to deny the vaccination of her son because of the fear of adverse reactions?!

We are focusing on the wrong problems and because of that a group of few companies will become so rich but so rich that negligent judicial processes will be covered really easy and the company will proceed as richer as never on the detriment of the health conditions and the patient's rights.

The swine flu hoax

Conspiracy theory for the swine flu!
Let the discussion begin!

Produced by Dr. Ron Paul, an American physician and a Republican Congressman for the state of Texas.

You can watch one more interesting video by clicking here
Dr. Rauni_Lenna Luukanen-Kilde is the former chief of medical officer of the Lappland province in Finland and she is known by trying to take a deeper look in some questions by exposing her conspiracy theories.

Two Strikes

Freedom of the press

"Reporters Without Borders" is a Paris-based international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press. Recently a new list of the countries where the freedom of the press is respected came out. Portugal fell 14 positions to the 30th place being now at the same level as Mali and Costa Rica! Last year Portugal occupied the 16th place together with Holland, Lithuania and Czech Republic. European countries are falling on the list as the governments are controlling more and more the Media. Other more dramatic examples are Italy and Spain, which occupy the 44th position together. This ranking is made every year. In the first position, with the biggest freedom of the press we have Denmark and as the last ones we have Cuba, Iran and Eritrea.

Countries with the biggest gaps between rich and poor

It is well known that developed countries have an increased tendency to have bigger gaps between richer and poorer people. The UN Development Program came out with a world list of the countries in which this difference is noted the most. In the first place we have Hong Kong, the most vertical city in the world! While rich people show themselves through the streets on big expensive Ferraris, about half the population lives in government-supported or -subsidized housing estates. Singapore, another fast-growing city occupies the 2nd position. Already in the 3rd, surprise or not, we have USA. Then we have Israel and, in the 5th position we have Portugal! A tiny country, considered stable, not involved in wars, member of the EU, country of the sun and the beach! Basically a country that could be on the last places of this list but, by unexplained reasons appears already in the 5th position worldwide! "While Portugal emerged from recession in the second quarter, the unemployment rate tops 9%. The ruling Socialists retained power in elections last month but lost seats to parties on the far left". The next countries appearing on the list are New Zealand, Italy and Britain (together in the 7th position), Australia, Ireland and Greece. On the other side of this ranking, we have more surprises! The countries where the rich-poor gap is less noted are Scandinavian countries, Japan and Czech Republic!

The twists this world gives, are sometimes not understandable...

The Lisbon Treaty

This is tough subject to try to talk about, even more to say it correctly!

The treaty was first signed in Lisbon on the 13^th of December, 2007. We are now in the long period of ratification by the different countries that always try to obtain the best for themselves.

The main goals of the treaty are:

- Not to serve as an autonomous document but rather an amend to the previous European treaties (times change, laws change and need to be adapted);

- Implement a “Charter of Fundamental Rights” to save the people’s political, social and economic rights;

- To officially name the European Central bank as an EU institution;

- To change the name of the “court of justice of the European communities” to “court of justice of the EU” and create a new emergency procedure for individuals in custody abroad;

- To fully introduce the “qualified majority voting” as standard method for voting in the European Council, meaning that “a qualified majority is reached when a at least 55% of all member countries who represent at least 65% of all EU citizens vote in favour of a proposal”

- Among other articles making minor changes in the hierarchic organization of the representatives of the EU.

The EU will have exclusive competences (does not need member’s approval and members have to accept it) in:

- The customs union;

- The establishing of the competition rules necessary for the functioning of the internal market;

- Monetary policy for the member states whose currency is the euro;

- The conservation of marine biological resources under the common fisheries policy;

- Common commercial policy.

Strict economic rules can ruin the small countries on their attempt to satisfy and meet these rules!

The Europe will become stronger and more unified with the treaty, making global important decisions to be held by many different cultures, together in an attempt to promote well-being and justice and at the same time it will face other big world potencies (USA, China, and Japan). Those are really important goals that EU should focus on because a single country does not have the same influence as a union of countries.

However, each and single country should not let this politics, to change their beliefs, culture and traditions. Small countries should not accept the proposals of the EU with indifference. The consequences should be carefully monitored because it might be the last chance of saying a world of yes or no.

Before its approval (which is done) and ratification, each country can try to have “opt-outs”, meaning they do not have to participate in certain policy areas. As much as the union tries to make equality to every country, there are always agreements and disagreements to certain policies, especially when they limit the activity of the particular country.

For example, Portugal has the largest sea territory but it is not the country of the EU that fishes the most because on the right time we did not impose our right.

Of course I am not writing this post just because I wanted to know more about this new European document. Vaclav Klaus, president of Czech Republic did not sign the treaty yet. This man is the second president of the Czech Republic and he is now on his second mandate after re-election in 2008 through the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), the right-wing main party. He is known to be a strong eurosceptic and he is trying to make sure that the ratification of the treaty will not change the economics of Czech Republic, especially now that the country is in a fast-growing period.

So, what is his main reason to ask for an “opt-out”?

After de second world war many Germans were expel from Czech Republic. The West Bohemia, where Plzen is was really influenced by many German families that set their lives here during the war. As the Charter of Fundamental Rights” is now, post-war German deportees could claim their old properties in Czech soil leading to hundreds of justice processes in court that would be judge by members of the EU that are not inside the History and do not know exactly what happen at those times. He is trying to get a special amend to Czech Republic to avoid this new conflict with Germany. At least this is what the big media say.

Portuguese police vs. Czech police

Not declaring and not even guaranteeing the efficacy of these different countries institutions, I would like to show you some pictures showing the 2 stereotypes. Even if there are men and men (or women) I think the idea running in the society is quite good expressed.

Portuguese example:





And the Czech example:



With these images I don't want to say that Czech police is better than Portuguese one. I want to stress that changes are needed in the Portuguese police way of admittance, formation and training of the society protectors. The authority is the police, not the thieves. The punishments are monetary fines (when applicable) and prison, not the (literally) term of identity and residence (the obligation of a person that committed a crime to present himself to the police once every week/month). The police as an institution that defends the citizens that fullfill the law has the duty of controlling the outlaws and calling them to the court, not the simple presence of the officers, which does not discourage the crime. Action is needed!
The number of people wanting to become a policeman in Portugal is quite good. however there is a limit number of candidates by law. This number should be increased, not to increase the number of policemen formed, but to increase the range of selection. More accepted candidates would permit also a greater exclusion of people that are not qualified for the job.

Grandes Obras Públicas

Aqui pela Ásia, enquanto faço tempo para que amanheça, descobri um email enviado por um amigo onde se encontrava parte da crítica escrita por Miguel Sousa Tavares e publicada no Expresso.
Apesar de, pessoalmente, desgostar do autor, este texto tenta elucidar aos Portugueses a maneira como somos vistos lá de fora: eternos ignorantes caídos na tolerância da arrogância dos sucessivos governos que têm marcado a política nos últimos anos. Resumindo:
- auto-estradas sem veículos,
- potencial agrícola sub-aproveitado e até abandonado,
- falta de iniciativa para a modernização das linhas ferroviárias já existentes,
- o projecto ridículo do TGV e a comparação com o TGV escandinavo (que não existe nem há planos para existir nestes países evoluídos, tidos como modelo para os restantes),
- alternativas pouco estudadas à construção de raíz de um novo aeroporto,
- investimentos que prometiam mais e melhor e continuam sem estarem concluídos.

Vale a pena ler este balanço, em tom de conversa:
http://aeiou.expresso.pt/esta-noite-sonhei-com-mario-lino=f523352

O Testamento Vital

Não percebo muito sobre o “Testamento Vital”. Não fazia ideia do que se tratava até pesquisar um pouco mais. Fiquei surpreendido ao constatar que muitos países Europeus terem adoptado um documento semelhante, antecipando-se, como sempre, às mudanças em Portugal. Foi proposto pela primeira vez por Louis Kutner em 1969, nos Estados Unidos. Trata-se de um documento que pode ser assinado quando uma pessoa se encontra em perfeita lucidez mental e que visa expressar a sua vontade de limitar as intervenções médicas em caso de uma doença incurável; determina “quais os cuidados de saúde que deseja ou não receber no futuro, no caso de, por qualquer causa, se encontrar incapaz de prestar o consentimento informado de forma autónoma". Assim, ao ser assinado o documento limita as actividades médicas à manutenção do conforto do doente e controlo da dor. Desta forma, depois de se confirmar que a doença é incurável e irreversível, o paciente evita intervenções invasivas que poderiam ou não melhorar o seu estado de saúde geral. No entanto, é direito do doente a defesa da sua dignidade, pelo que o documento, depois de devidamente analisado e avaliado deve ser adoptado, mesmo tendo como consequência a limitação do acto médico. Consta então que a proposta apresentada pelo Governo não reunia todas as condições para a sua adopção, tendo sido reprovado pelo Conselho Nacional de Ética para as Ciências da Vida. Este diploma tinha já sido aprovado em Assembleia da República pelo PS e PCP, com a abstenção do BE e votos contra do PSD e CDS. O Governo decidiu então não levar o diploma a Belém com receio de um veto do Presidente da República. Com tantas dúvidas pelo meio torna-se evidente que o documento deve ser revisto o mais depressa possível de modo a ser aprovado e dignificar os doentes em Portugal. Caso curioso segue-se a estas múltiplas encruzilhadas... O Prof. João Lobo Antunes foi afastado do Conselho Nacional de Ética para as Ciências da Vida por razões ainda por esclarecer o que, segundo o semanário SOL deixou o Presidente da República “estupefacto”. Muitas confusões que só prejudicam e atrasam um documento simples, tornado em mais um caso de burocracia e política com desacatos entre o Governo e um orgão independente (que muitos dizem pretender controlar). No final, a mesma conclusão de sempre, trocam-se as pessoas nas diferentes instituições da maneira que vais convém aos governantes e não de forma a trabalhar e lutar por um País melhor, mais transparente e menos burocrático.